Casefile True Crime - Case 204: The Glendale Train Crash

Episode Date: March 26, 2022

On January 26 2005, 25-year-old Juan Alvarez parked his car on a railway line in Glendale, Los Angeles, causing an explosive train crash that killed and injured dozens of commuters. Alvarez, plagued by family troubles and a difficult past, claimed it was an accident but those who witnessed the crash said otherwise. Was Alvarez an innocent victim or a calculating killer? --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research – Holly Boyd Writing – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn This episode's sponsors: The Detective’s Dilemma – New podcast from Casefile Presents The Jordan Harbinger Show – Learn the stories, secrets, and skills of the world’s most brilliant and interesting people Scribd – Get your two first months of Scribd’s unlimited number of full-length books, audiobooks, and other content for only $0.99 a month For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-204-the-glendale-train-crash

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It was cold and rainy in Los Angeles County on the morning of Wednesday, January 26, 2005. Shortly before 6am, Jenny Dole pulled into the deserted car park of the Costco retail warehouse in Glendale, a suburb 10 miles north of downtown LA. While dark, quiet and dreary outside, the interior of the Costco was bright and bustling with employees preparing for the day ahead. Jenny began work at the loading dock. A few minutes into her shift, a thunderous roar blasted through the building causing the entire warehouse to shake. Within moments, the area fell eerily silent. Jenny stopped what she was doing and looked anxiously at those around her.

Once their shock had worn off, the workers rushed out to investigate the source of the frightening noise. Early that morning, engineer Bruce Gray boarded a Metro Link 100, a blue and white double-decker train headed for downtown LA. Over 100 commuters were spread out behind him on the train's upper and lower compartments. Bruce entered the front carriage and took his position behind the controls. Metro Link 100 reached the speed of around 80mph as it hurdled from station to station. Soon, the train was on the outskirts of the city, heading south towards Glendale. As its headlights pierced the pre-dawn darkness, Bruce Gray noticed something glint up ahead. Parked on the rails was a green Jeep Cherokee SUV.

It was sitting a little further up from the Chevy Chase Drive crossing. Its headlights were off. Bruce couldn't see anyone near it. He slammed on the emergency brakes and shut off the throttle, but it was too late. Knowing the train had no chance of stopping in time, Bruce ran through the carriage behind him, yelling at passengers to hold on. Seconds later, the train collided with the Jeep at approximately 63mph. The Jeep overturned and embedded under the front of the first carriage. The grinding metal on metal produced hot sparks that triggered a blaze at the collision point. It spread quickly through the first undercarriage.

The screams of commuters echoed down the remaining carriages, accompanied by the loud crashing noises caused by the fiery impact. Because of the Jeep's comparative size, the collision did little to slow the train. It continued along for 250 yards to where the track split in two. The front part of the first passenger carriage exited and travelled along the sidetrack, while its rear and the remaining carriages continued along the main line. The lights inside the train flickered out. Commuters felt silent. All they could hear was the screeching of the undercarriage as it dragged across gravel. They braced themselves in nervous anticipation. It was common for trains to be parked on the sidetrack when not in use.

On this occasion, a freight train was dormant on the sidetrack and had been for several days. It contained construction materials used to repair a portion of the track further north that had been damaged from a recent mudslide. Now split between both the main line and sidetrack, the front passenger carriage of Metrolink 100 collided with the stationery freight train at about 47 miles per hour. Half the carriage was crushed on impact. Passengers inside were violently thrown from their seats, with some landing on the tracks outside. Smoke filled the air as the train jackknifed across the tracks and derailed, spilling debris everywhere. Travelling in the opposite direction was another double-decker passenger train. Engineer Thomas Ormiston was operating Metrolink 901 heading north from downtown LA.

Thomas was on schedule, having just departed Glendale Station. Within moments, his train sped into the crash site ahead. The first two passenger carriages of the 901 narrowly cleared the accident between Metrolink 100 and the freight train. Had it not been for the jackknife effect caused by the collision, Metrolink 901 would have passed through the area unscathed. However, Metrolink 100 raked down the entire side of the final passenger carriage of the 901, completely caving it in on one side. As the 901 was travelling at approximately 50 miles per hour, the impact caused all three of its passenger carriages to derail and topple over. An overhead signal tower also sustained damage, falling and crashing onto one of the carriages. Debris from the three train wrecks spilled over into the parking lot of the nearby Costco.

Employees emerged from the building and rushed to the scene armed with fire extinguishers. They desperately battled the flames engulfing the front carriage of Metrolink 100, which were reaching 20 feet high. A Costco employee retrieved a forklift from the warehouse to try to dislodge some of the wreckage to reach those trapped inside. Others risked their own lives by directly pulling people from the wreck, which was so damaged it hardly resembled a carriage. When leaking diesel fuel soaked their clothes, they were forced to ease back or risk catching fire. Yet, they managed to pull out one final victim before retreating, a man covered in blood and soot. All of his limbs appeared to be broken and his face was charred black. As he was lifted out, the injured man profusely thanked his rescuers.

He asked them to pray for him before closing his eyes. Minutes later, he passed away. He was one of 11 fatalities. Eight people had died on Metrolink 100. The remainder were on board Metrolink 901. At 6.03 am, three short beeps came over the radio of the LAPD's northeast division. An announcement followed, explaining that there had been a train derailment at Glendale. Officers raced to the location. They were confronted by a thick cloud of smoke that reaped of diesel fuel.

It shadowed a chaotic scene. A dazed and frantic crowd had gathered in the parking light of the nearby Costco. Almost 200 people bore injuries. Those in the worst condition were being wheeled around in store carts. Others were shaken, but able to walk. The adjacent train tracks were a mess of twisted and burning metal. Firefighters extinguished the accompanying blaze, allowing responders to retrieve the remaining passengers scattered throughout the crash site. They had sustained fractured bones, head injuries, lacerations, and in some cases, impalement from train debris.

The cause of the crash, the Jeep Cherokee SUV, was near obliterated. Pieces of the vehicle were scattered over 300 yards. What was left of the Jeep's chassis was still lodged upside down under the burnt remains of Metrolink 100's front passenger carriage. Even though the vehicle's fuel tank was warped by heat, it remained intact. It contained almost 12 gallons of gasoline, meaning it was almost full. Investigators walked along the track examining the remains of the Jeep. They located two plastic one-gallon water bottles that had been in the vehicle, along with a headrest, a poultry from the passenger side door and back seat, weather stripping from around the rear window, and two pieces of moulding from the roof.

Even though the Jeep's fuel tank was intact, all of these items tested positive for gasoline. They also located the tailgate with the license plate attached. A witness emerged who had seen the Jeep moments prior to the crash. It was driving along Chevy Chase Drive before pulling off to continue along the side road parallel to the railway lines. It was put in park and a male driver got out. He then poured liquid from a large jug all over the exterior of the vehicle, starting on the roof and then moving to the hood and rear. Once the bottle was empty, the man got back into the Jeep and continued driving down the side road until he found an entry point onto the train line. He then parked the vehicle on the tracks and waited.

The 35-year-old Juan Manuel Alvarez had a rough start in life. Born in 1979, Juan grew up in Mexicali, a city along the US-Mexico border. He was beaten and abused by his alcoholic and drug-dealing father, who had been a professional boxer. After one particularly brutal attack, Juan's father tied him to a table overnight. On another occasion, eight-year-old Juan was pulled from his home by his older sister, Cynthia. Once outside, Cynthia watched through a window as her father beat their mother so severely that blood soaked her face. They were both mouthing words at Cynthia, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Turning around, Cynthia saw Juan trying to hang himself.

Their father came outside and rescued him. A short while after, Juan tried to take his own life again, this time by jumping in front of a moving bus. His grandmother pulled him to safety just in time. As a child, Juan claimed he was molested by an uncle. Around this time, he started having delusions. Juan featured an evil spirit that entered Juan's room at night, crawled into his bed, and slept next to him. When Juan spoke of this nightmare, he would zone out and stare into nothingness. At age 12, Juan moved to LA.

While cannabis helped him cope with his troubled past, it took harder drugs to keep the delusions at bay. Juan developed a cocaine and methamphetamine addiction, but they only fueled his disassociation from reality. He spoke of hearing voices and seeing people who weren't there. In 1999, Juan Alvarez married a woman named Carmelita. He raised Carmelita's daughter, and the couple had a son of their own. Juan enjoyed fatherhood and worked construction jobs to support his family, but was never able to shake his methamphetamine habit, even getting higher when looking after his children. In 2004, Juan badly injured his arm at a work site.

As it never completely healed, he was unable to return to the laborious work he relied on. He fell into a deep depression as his financial concerns mounted. Family members sent Juan money to pay off the bills, but his ongoing unemployment and drug addiction ensured that he was never financially sound. After two failed attempts at rehabilitation, Juan was kicked out of home by Carmelita, who also filed a restraining order against him to prevent him from seeing his children. Juan resettled in Glendale. On Saturday, January 22, 2005, Juan phoned Carmelita, begging to see his children.

Carmelita refused, wanting Juan to deal with his demons first. She did allow him to speak to them over the phone. Before ending the call, Juan said to Carmelita, Thank you for letting me talk to the kids. Help prevent shingles in patients over 50 with shingricks. Shingricks is indicated for the prevention of herpes zoster, HZ, or shingles in adults 50 years of age or older. Consult the product monograph at gsk.ca. To request a product monograph or to report an adverse event, please call 1-800-377-374.

Learn more at thinkshinricks.ca. Four days later, on Wednesday, January 26, Juan Alvarez woke early. Despite his weak hand, he'd secured some work on a construction site. He was due at the work site at 7am in Pasadena, eight miles from his home. Juan showered and tied his long black hair into a ponytail to keep it off his face. Before leaving, he warded the roses that bloomed outside his house. He was happy. Life was looking up, and Juan was optimistically waiting on the results of a drug test. The negative result that he expected meant he could see his kids again soon.

By 5.30am, Juan was on the road in his jeep with plenty of time to spare. He headed towards a gas station to fill up his car. On the way, he heard Carmelita in the back seat telling him over and over how stupid he was. She was unrelenting in her taunts. Juan snapped. He filled his tank with gasoline as well as two one-gallon plastic jugs. He had made his decision. Juan was going to set his car on fire with himself inside.

Juan drove around looking for a dark and deserted place. Carmelita continued to berate him from the back seat, now joined by a man whom Juan presumed to be her lover. He stopped briefly at Chevy Chase Park. The park fit his specifications. It was quiet and unlit, with the sun not due to rise for another 90 minutes. Yet Juan was not satisfied and continued along Chevy Chase Drive, then turned into a side street where he parked directly under a streetlight. He emptied one gallon of gasoline over his head and body. He poured the rest all over the exterior and interior of his car. With all the windows and doors closed, Juan sat back into the driver's seat.

He felt dizzy and nauseous from the fumes. Hands shaking, he held up a lighter. Again, Juan changed his mind. Burning alive would be a terrible way to die. He drove back up to Chevy Chase Drive and then at the railway crossing entered the restricted area of the tracks and drove parallel to the railroad line for about 50 yards. Juan then parked his car over the tracks. Over the next 15 minutes, he looked at photographs of his two children and came to the realization that he was making a huge mistake. He tried backing up his Jeep, but it wouldn't budge. It was stuck on the track.

Juan climbed out of his car and attempted to push it off, but to no avail. He placed a large rock under a rear wheel to leverage the vehicle upwards and forwards. Pressing his foot to the gas pedal, the wheel spun in place and the car didn't budge. As he sat defeated in the front seat, Juan heard the sound of a blaring horn approaching. At 5.59am, Edward Branch was waiting in his car. The barrier along the Chevy Chase Drive level crossing had just lowered in anticipation of a passing train. As Edward waited, he noticed a jeep on the tracks nearby. A double-decker train was barreling towards it. It made contact with the car, resulting in a fiery crash.

Moments later, a second train traveling in the opposite direction smashed into the carnage. A man suddenly appeared from the side of the tracks, near where the jeep had been parked. He then headed towards the destruction. Juan Alvarez ran to the wreckage and approached a passenger who'd escaped to Metrolink 100 with only minor injuries. Juan asked him what had happened. He was told that the train had crashed and people had died. Juan exclaimed, oh no, and fell to the ground. He was asked if he had anything to do with the collision. Juan gave no response. Instead, he got up and moved onwards.

As he walked amongst the injured and dying, Juan held onto a large eagle feather that he carried with him everywhere. He believed that the eagle was an honored animal that guided the souls of the dead to God. By having the feather with him at that moment, Juan felt he was assisting the dying passengers to enter heaven. Raymunda Basana was going about her typical morning in Glendale when, at 6.15am, Juan Alvarez entered her home. Raymunda was Juan's landlady and the pair had a good relationship. In lieu of paying monetary rent, Juan worked as a maintenance man for Raymunda. That day, Raymunda was disturbed to find Juan in her home with his arms and chest covered in blood. Clutched tightly in his hand was a pair of blooded scissors.

Juan took Raymunda's phone. He phoned his wife, speaking in a garbled mixture of Spanish and English. He then called a cousin who had supported him throughout his time in LA. He left him a voicemail. I didn't mean this. A lot of innocent people died. I don't deserve to live. I apologize for everything. Please pray for me. Please. As he made the calls, Juan stabbed himself in the chest with the scissors. Raymunda contacted 911. Juan told first responders that he had, quote, Hurt those people. I jumped in front of the train. Officers arrived at the hospital while Juan Alvarez was undergoing treatment for his self-inflicted, non-life-threatening stab wounds. Juan asked how the people on the trains were before explaining what he had done. He added,

I want life or death row. I deserve it. Juan was arrested and held in custody. Described as distraught and remorseful but cooperative, he was charged with one count of arson, one count of train wrecking with intent to cause derailment, and 11 counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances. Special circumstances arose due to there being multiple victims, and so, if found guilty, Juan faced the death penalty. Carmelita visited her husband while he was in custody. She told the Washington Post about the moment he decided not to end his own life, quote, He was there and out of nowhere he saw a light, not the light from the train. He said he felt like there was a presence from God telling him to get away.

The restraining order that Carmelita had previously placed on Juan was also in part to his mental state. His behavior had increasingly become erratic and threatening lately. He exhibited paranoia and obsessive jealousy and accused her of cheating on him with his cousin, neighbors, co-workers, and strangers. He suspected Carmelita recorded him with hidden cameras in his bedroom. He also believed she was making pornography videos with other people. Juan purchased a firearm and repeatedly threatened Carmelita's lovers, all of whom were figments of his imagination. He even considered killing Carmelita. Juan was opposed to seeking psychiatric help, so Carmelita sought a restraining order to protect herself and their children.

This caused Juan's lifelong suicidal inclination to re-emerge. He had told others of his intentions to end his life. In preparation for the trial, Juan Ávarez was interviewed by a number of psychiatrists. Juan diagnosed him with a psychotic mood disorder and attributed Juan's impulsive behavior and irritability to this disorder. Another psychiatrist was of the opinion that Juan showed logical, goal-oriented behavior on the day of the train crash. Others theorized that Juan's desire to end his own life was the result of a depressing come-down of a methamphetamine high, which he admitted to using prior to the train crash. On the morning of the train crash, Juan recalled Carmelita belittling him from the backseat of his Jeep as he drove around searching for the ideal place to take his life.

At one point, she was joined by a man Juan identified as one of her lovers. However, there were no others in the vehicle at the time. They were delusions. During this bickering, Juan contemplated visiting Carmelita at work and killing her, but it was too early for her to be there. Even though Juan knew that Carmelita couldn't be in two places at once, he was still convinced she was sitting behind him with another man. He heard the pair remarking, Look at how stupid he is. He can't even see us. Their words angered Juan and his attention turned to the railway tracks. He believed if he took his life there, it would get Carmelita's attention and make her feel bad.

Juan maintained that he didn't realize a passenger train would approach. He expected a cargo train that would smash through his car and continue along without derailing. He claimed he wasn't thinking about the consequences of his actions, including that others could be harmed or killed by his plan. He knew of an instance wherein a train collided with a taxi. The taxi's occupants were killed, but no one on the train was harmed. Juan Alvarez's trial began in late April 2008. His defense team insisted that Juan never intended for anyone to be hurt by his actions. He wanted to take his own life, but changed his mind at the last moment. This desire had lingered since childhood, prompted by physical and sexual abuse, drug dependency, untreated mental health issues, and a failing marriage.

Juan offered the families of his victims an apology in court, maintaining that he never intended to hurt their loved ones. In contrast, the prosecution argued that Juan Alvarez had no intention of taking his own life. Rather, he wanted to create a grand spectacle that would get his wife's attention and pity, so she would take him back. There were elements about Juan's story that didn't add up to evidence at the scene. Juan claimed that he had poured gasoline on himself and his vehicle, with the initial intention to set himself alight. His clothing from that day tested positive for traces of gasoline, but an amount that arson investigators attributed to splashback when pouring it all over his vehicle, not directly over himself. Witnesses who had interacted with Juan immediately after the crash noted that he didn't smell of gasoline. Doctors who had treated him didn't recall Juan's eyes or skin as being red, inflamed, or irritated, tell tale signs of prolonged exposure to gasoline.

The prosecution insisted that Juan didn't make the bona fide attempt to take his own life, as he alleged. Furthermore, an expert witness revealed that fire damage on the jeep's parking brake assembly indicated that it was activated at the time of impact. This meant the car was in park, which contradicted Juan's claims that he had made considerable effort to try and move the jeep to avoid a collision. Witnesses reported that only the car's passenger door was open at the time it was demolished, which contradicted Juan's claims that he had thrown himself from the driver's side seconds before impact. Additionally, the vehicle's headlights were off, indicating Juan didn't intend for it to be seen until it was too late. There was no debate that the gasoline Juan had poured over his jeep was a contributing factor in starting the blaze that consumed Metrolink 100's front passenger carriage. The arson count was crucial to Juan's case. The felony statute on arson in California meant that if Juan was found guilty of causing the fire, he was to be held liable for the murders, even if he didn't intend to kill anyone.

Even the defense's expert witness agreed with most of the prosecution's findings. They conceded that if a person poured gasoline over their vehicle and waited for a train to collide with it, then they probably intended for a fire to start, using the train as an ignition source. After three hours of deliberation, the jury found Juan Alvarez guilty of one count of arson and of all 11 counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances. They found him not guilty of train wrecking, unsatisfied that he intended to derail the train. Nevertheless, the guilty verdict ensured Juan would face a possible death sentence. In talking to the Daily News, three members of the jury said they likely would not have convicted Juan Alvarez of murder had it not been for the felony statute on arson. The jury foreman said he was reckless, he's a dangerous man, but I don't think he had any intention. The week prior to the verdict, the jury inspected four of the train cars damaged in the collision.

Rather than implicate Juan Alvarez, the wreckage had the opposite effect. The jury foreman told the Daily News that seeing the wreckage reaffirmed his belief that Juan did not expect anyone to get injured. Quote, seeing how big those trains were and how heavy they were, I really don't think a reasonable person would expect a train to derail by parking their car on the tracks. In the weeks following the trial, the jury opted to remove the death penalty as a possible sentence, reasoning that Juan Alvarez never intended to kill. Juan's wife and cousin were featured in the LA Times pleading for leniency, citing that he belonged in a mental institution, not on death row. They regretted not getting Juan the psychiatric help he needed, saying they believed the catastrophe could have been avoided if they had. The Superior Court judge was far more skeptical of Juan Alvarez. He didn't believe that Juan was unaware that his actions would have dire consequences for others.

He told Alvarez that the phone message he left for his cousin following the crash seemed set up, like somebody playing a part, and that it sounded like a very bad actor trying to convince the person that he really feels as he says he does, and it doesn't ring true. The judge told Juan, I don't believe for a minute you intended to kill yourself or harm yourself in any way. I think you were setting up a scenario so you could go back to your family. If there was a sentence known as forever in state prison, I would give it to you. What I'm going to do is almost the equivalent, and I agree that these 11 people who died and their families deserve a maximum sentence in this case. Juan was given 11 consecutive life sentences.

It was the maximum sentence that could be awarded given that the death penalty had been taken off the table. Juan Alvarez appealed his conviction in 2012, arguing in part that the prosecution failed to prove a connection between the arson he committed and the deaths of the victims. His appeal failed. A number of the survivors of the Glendale train crash filed a civil lawsuit against Metrolink, claiming that the tragedy could have been avoided, had the engineer of Metrolink 100, Bruce Gray, followed protocol. During the trial, Bruce testified that in the seconds before the crash, he saw what appeared to be a reflection coming from a vehicle about three-quarters of a mile ahead. Bruce said he became fixated on the area, and when he saw an outline of the jeep, he hit the train's emergency brakes. However, the black box taken from the train wreckage revealed that the service brakes had only been applied initially, with a few critical seconds passing before the emergency brakes were activated. The attorney representing the victims argued that had Bruce Gray applied the brakes when he said he had a trial, the crash could have been avoided.

Metrolink settled the lawsuit, with a $39 million combined payout. Following the Glendale train crash, Metrolink's fleet underwent changes, with the spokesman claiming that it was now the safest commuter rail line in the country. Their trains were fitted out with crash energy management technology that included bumpers designed to absorb the lion's share of energy from a collision. 11 unrelated fates were sealed when Juan Alvarez abandoned his jeep on the Ventura line near Glendale train station on January 26, 2005. Manuel Alcalá aged 51, Julia Bennett aged 44, Alfonso Caballero aged 62, Elizabeth Hill aged 65, Scott McCown aged 42, William Perrin aged 53, James Totino aged 47, and Don Wiley aged 58 lost their lives aboard Metrolink 100. Leonard Romero aged 53, Henry Kalinsky aged 39, and the train's engineer, Thomas Ormiston aged 58, died on Metrolink 901. Thomas had worked on trains since 1972. His job was often a topic of conversation whenever he dropped his car off to his mechanic and friend, Walter. During one visit, the pair spoke of the possibility of a train crash occurring after reading about similar incidents in the papers.

Walter asked Thomas if he was worried about such things. No, it's okay, Thomas responded. Accidents will happen. you